Testing and Debugging Software - 09 Sep 2003

Readers chose VMware Workstation as the Best Testing and Debugging Software, backing up their choice with comments such as "easy, cheap, stable" and "it just plain rocks!" VMware Workstation is desktop virtual machine (VM) software that lets users run multiple OSs on one machine, enabling developers to build and test applications and complex network configurations on various platforms before deployment. Developers can also use VMware Workstation to archive and restore test environments.

VMware Workstation isolates OSs and applications on secure VMs that coexist on one piece of hardware. The software maps physical hardware resources to the VM's resources, so each VM has its own CPU, memory, and I/O devices, for example.

Many readers mentioned VMware Workstation's ease of use and reliability. Reader Pete Calvert praised VMware Workstation because it "allows for full machine testing, including support of multiple NICs on a desktop machine." According to reader David Schwartz, VMware Workstation "saves a lot of time and money by setting up test stations at a good price."